Murdoch’s move puts spotlight on APN, Foxtel

Lachlan Murdoch’s $112 million purchase of 50 per cent of DMG Radio, the owner of the Nova and Vega networks, on Thursday was one of the biggest deals in a quiet year for media corporate activity.

Until Murdoch struck his deal with British company Daily Mail and General Trust, which set up DMG 12 years ago, the highest-profile media corporate move this year was the share raids on James Packer’s Consolidated Media Holdings by Kerry Stokes’ Seven Network.

The raids gave Stokes a 19.9 per cent stake in ConsMedia, which has key investments in the pay television sector via Foxtel and Premier Media Group, the producer of the Fox Sports channels.

Stokes has since lifted his holding to about 22 per cent by not participating in the share buyback ConsMedia has been conducting since September 11.

Packer has not sold any ConsMedia shares, boosting his stake in the company from 40.8 per cent to about 45 per cent.

Murdoch and Stokes also figured in another media play, buying 8.9 per cent and 11.4 per cent respectively of Paul Ramsay’s Prime Media Group when the latter conducted a $110 million capital raising earlier this year.

This week Ramsay told afr.com that Murdoch and Seven initially wanted to buy 20 per cent and 14.9 per cent respectively of his regional TV and radio group but had to settle for smaller shareholdings.

This year saw two media companies lose their biggest shareholders, with debt-laden Canadian group CanWest Global Communications selling its 50.1 per cent stake in Ten Network and ConsMedia selling its 26 per cent holding in online job ads company Seek.